Grain Milling Station Questions

I'm planning out a grain milling station build, and had some questions. I recently replaced my 1/3 hp (read crappy) garbage disposal with a 3/4 hp unit.

1/3 hp disposal: InSinkErator | Badger® 1

I'd like to be able to use this motor, and it seems sturdy enough to do the job. I'll just pull of the grinding bits and the sink attachment and place the motor on it's side. The only problem I see is that the motor runs at 1725 RPM, which is way too fast for milling grain. I have a Barley Crusher but I can't find out what the proper RPM setting is for crushing grain. On their site it mentions this:

Using a 3/8 drillmotor at 500 RPM gives you a crush rate of 6 pounds a minute making the big grain bills fast and easy.

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I'm pretty sure I need to attach some pulleys to the motor so that the RPM is around 500-700 RPM.

Does anyone have any suggestions or information regarding pulleys and the proper sizes to reach 500-700 RPM with a 1725 RPM motor? And, is it worth the effort to use this motor or will it just be over/under powered? Thanks a bunch for your responses!

Maybe employ a rheostat of some sort to give you a variable speed control.

I know if I don't start my drill slowly on my barley crusher, the rollers can "slip" past the grains and they don't catch.

you can try this site.

Pulley size and RPM

If you can't find a pulley the right size. Id suggest talking to a local machine shop and get a price on them making one for you.

Just for reference we charge $60 per hour. And we would probably charge $30 to make a pulley. It might be different though in different shops.



-Nick

Pulley And Belt Information Calculator

here's another one.

A 1.5" sheave on the motor and a 10" sheave on the mill will put you below 200rpms as long as you use a 3L V-belt.

Tonedef131 said:

A 1.5" sheave on the motor and a 10" sheave on the mill will put you below 200rpms as long as you use a 3L V-belt.

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Thanks for the info, and excuse the noobness about motors/pulleys/sheaves/belts....you get the picture. I've been looking on grainger and found some items. Would something like this work?

Motor side - 2" OD:
Power Transmission > Sheaves and Pulleys > Sheaves > Fixed Bore Sheave,Solid,Single Groove : Grainger Industrial Supply


Mill side - 8" OD:
Power Transmission > Sheaves and Pulleys > Sheaves > Fixed Bore Sheave,Spoked,Single Groove : Grainger Industrial Supply

If I have 2" drive side pulley, and 6" on the mill with 1725 RPM on the drive side that should give me 431 RPM at the mill. That's the number I get with the calculator anyway...does this seem right?

Also, looks like this belt would work if I plan to have the motor mounted 12" from the mill. The calculator says that for a center-to-center distance of 12" I would need a belt length of 40".
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/3L400

And since the drive shaft of my barley crusher is 3/8", I'll need some 3/8"->1/2" bushings as well.
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/4X664

I would really recommend going with a bigger sheave on the mill side. Everything I have read is that you wanna keep the rollers between 150-250rpm or you risk the rollers seizing (too slow) or ripping the hell out of the husk (too fast). I have the 1.5" and 10" sheaves from grainger and I get a fantastic crush at about 6lbs per min.

Tonedef131 said:

I would really recommend going with a bigger sheave on the mill side. Everything I have read is that you wanna keep the rollers between 150-250rpm or you risk the rollers seizing (too slow) or ripping the hell out of the husk (too fast). I have the 1.5" and 10" sheaves from grainger and I get a fantastic crush at about 6lbs per min.

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Ok, that sounds like a perfect rate. What RPM is your motor running at? And did you have to add any bushings anywhere to make the sheaves fit properly? Thanks!

TwoHeadsBrewing said:

Ok, that sounds like a perfect rate. What RPM is your motor running at? And did you have to add any bushings anywhere to make the sheaves fit properly? Thanks!

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My motor ran at 1725rpm too, so if you use those same diameter sheaves with a 3L belt you will be between 189-190rpm. The mill I bought had a 1/2" drive shaft so I did not use a bushing, but I know grainger does carry them.

Does anyone have any suggestions or information regarding pulleys and the proper sizes to reach 500-700 RPM with a 1725 RPM motor? And, is it worth the effort to use this motor or will it just be over/under powered? Thanks a bunch for your responses!

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I like compact designs if possible.
My mill runs around 100 RPM.

Find a small gearbox with the correct gear ratio for your project.
All my designs include gear motors, two mash mixers and mill.



Cheers,
ClaudiusB

Very cool! Do you have more pics or a project log of your milling station build?

Very cool! Do you have more pics or a project log of your milling station build?

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Only pics, sorry.



More mill pics

Cheers,
ClaudiusB

I came across the same insinkerator 1/3HP garbage disposal motor and would like to follow your idea. Which sheaves(pulleys) did you end up using? How did you mount the sheave to the motor? The end of my motor is a threaded shaft that held the grinding bits...

Any other helpful advice/lessons learned on the grain mill build you can offer?

Thank you in advance,
Chris